Cedar, pine, spruce are trees that, by definition, belong to the Pine family. However, despite their external similarity, these plants have a number of significant differences.

Places of growth

Cedars grew in the subtropical climate zone of the Mediterranean, mountainous Crimea and the Himalayas. In accordance with the name of the area where the tree grows, it is usually divided into types: Lebanese, and so on. Pines spread in the temperate subtropical climate of Eurasia, North America. Scientists identify about 200 varieties of pine trees. Spruces and pines are evergreen trees. Living conditions are created by different forms of plants from bushes to trees with large crowns.

Features

The monoecious cedar plant reaches 50 m in height, is evergreen, and has an impressive spreading crown. The spirally arranged needles are collected in bunches. Each needle resembles a needle and is triangular in emerald-steel color.

Pine is also a monoecious plant with short or long needles. A bunch consists of two to five needles. If a tree is damaged, rosettes begin to form on it, and short needles grow from them. Their color depends on the climate and soil composition and varies from light silver to rich green.

Cedar cones are arranged singly, in candles, and have a barrel-shaped shape. The cone ripens in the second or third year of formation. Pine cones are oblong in shape and hang from the branches. Spruce also has needle-like, but shortened needles. The roots of this tree do not go deep, but are located on the surface layers; the spruce requires fertile and wet soil.

The difference between spruce and pine is that pine is light-loving, and spruce is shade-tolerant. Pollination of the first and second species occurs with the help of wind. Pine received wide application on the farm, its wood is valuable material for carpentry and construction, it is used as fuel. This tree is a raw material for the extraction of tar, resin and turpentine.

General conclusions regarding differences

The number of varieties of pine and spruce is tens of times greater than the number of cedar species. The growing area of ​​pine is much wider than that of cedar. The morphological characteristics and size variability of pine are also much more diverse. A cedar bundle consists of more needle-shaped needles. Pine is less capricious in its choice of soil; its long, powerful roots go deep into the ground, which means the tree can feed on moisture and nutrients located in the deep layers of the earth.

Cedar and pine are two trees that belong to the same Pine family. Despite their external similarity, both plants have a number of significant differences.

What are cedar and pine

Cedar is a genus of trees in the Pine family, which consists of only a few species.
Lebanese cedar
Pine is a genus of trees in the Pine family, numbering about 120 species.
Scots pine
Siberian cedar pine

Comparison of cedar and pine

What is the difference between cedar and pine?
Cedars are common within the subtropical climate zone– Mediterranean, mountainous Crimea, Himalayas. Therefore, there are only a few types of these plants - Lebanese, Himalayan and Atlas cedar.
Pines are common in temperate and subtropical climate in Eurasia and North America. Today there are about 200 species of pine trees on Earth. Pines are evergreens. Depending on living conditions, they look like large trees with crown different shapes, and miniature shrubs.
Cedar is a monoecious plant reaching 50 meters in height. The tree is evergreen and has a characteristic, spreading crown. The needles are arranged spirally, collected in bunches of 30-40 pieces each. An individual needle resembles a needle. It can be triangular or tetrahedral, painted in a special emerald-steel color.
Pine is a monoecious plant with long or short needles. From two to five long needles are collected in a bunch, the number of which forms the basis of the taxonomy of pine trees. When damaged, rosettes form on the tree, from which short needles grow. The color of the green mass of pine depends on the climate and soil quality, and therefore varies from light silver to intense green.
Cedar cones are located singly, “stick out” like candles, and have a special barrel-shaped shape. Such a cone ripens in the second or third year of its formation. This seed incubation organ is characterized by the presence of numerous, spirally arranged scales, to which tiny ones are attached - only 15% of the total weight of the cone! - winged seeds. The embryo of the future cedar consists of 8-10 cotyledons. When a seed falls into the soil, a new cedar sprout is able to grow - “hatch” in just 3 weeks.
Pine cones have a characteristic oblong shape, do not “stick out”, but hang sadly from the branches. Bye the process is underway When the seed ripens, the scales fit very tightly, but upon ripening they open, “releasing” the seeds. For each scale there are a pair of winged or wingless seeds. A very small pine embryo has from 4 to 15 cotyledons. Germination time depends on the type and geographical location of the plant.
Due to its greater distribution and number of species, pine is used more intensively by humans.

TheDifference.ru determined that the difference between cedar and pine is as follows:

The number of pine species is tens of times greater than the number of cedar species.
The distribution area of ​​pine is much wider than that of cedar.
The morphology and size of pine are much more diverse than cedar.
There are more needles in a cedar bundle than in a pine bundle.
Pine forests are of greater economic importance for humanity.

This tree is called Siberian cedar. Although botanists dispute the name - and rightly so: it does not belong to the Cedar genus, but is closely related to pine trees. This one is called biological species Siberian pine (in Latin Pinus sibirica). Sometimes “cedar” is added. Since we are not specialists - taxonomists, we do not go into such subtleties; we call the tree as is customary. It can be called differently - cedar, and Siberian pine - it is important that we understand what we are talking about... And really, what should we do now if in Siberia forests of Siberian pine are called “cedars”? Don't rename...

First of all, Siberian cedar is a very beautiful tree! Slender, covered with thick, long and soft needles. Take a closer look - the Siberian cedar has five long needles in a bunch, and not two, like . The needles are triangular, dark green, covered with a waxy coating. The bark also differs in color - in Siberian cedar it is grayish-brown. The crown is dense, with thick branches. Escapes last year stand out for their color - they are rather silver-brown.

The tree grows very slowly. Apparently, this is the reason why cedar grows so slender. He can live for a long time - up to five hundred years, and maybe more. And only at 50-60 years old does the Siberian cedar begin to bear fruit. Then female cones appear on the tops of young shoots, in which seed scales with two ovules are located under the covering scales. And near the base of the shoot of the last year, male cones grow, and pollen ripens in them. It is carried by the wind (as, indeed, in all pine trees).

The seeds of Siberian cedar ripen in cones for more than a year. They are very different from the seeds of Scots pine! Large - about a centimeter in length, more than half a centimeter in thickness - they are called “pine nuts” (although, from the point of view of biologists, they are not nuts!). They do not have any wings and cannot be carried by the wind, like Scots pine seeds, if only because of their weight. But taiga animals - the squirrel, the chipmunk, the nutcracker bird - take the most part in distributing seeds. active participation. Some of their winter supplies may be forgotten and lost. And then in the spring the seeds from such a “storehouse” germinate.

The seeds ripen by the end of summer of the year following pollination, in August. The cones dry out, become less resinous and begin to fall from the trees. It is then that the collection of “pine nuts” (the so-called “pine cone fight”) begins in places where Siberian pine grows massively. Previously, this process was quite strictly regulated by peasant communities. Then the state took over this function. What is happening now, we, who live far from the cedar trees, can only guess...

Pine nuts are eaten both directly and as part of different dishes. They are very useful, as they contain almost all the amino acids, B vitamins, vitamins E and K that we need. Siberian pine seeds are rich in microelements - manganese, zinc, iron, copper, magnesium, phosphorus. And yet, pine nuts are mainly used to produce pine nut oil.

Pine nuts contain a lot of polyunsaturated fatty acids. If they are extracted from the seeds, you will get valuable cedar oil, which can be used both in cooking and in medicinal purposes. It is superior in quality to olive oil! But when buying it, you need to make sure that you are buying a truly valuable product. The fact is that to extract oil there is several ways. The first one is cold pressed. The seeds are placed under a press and the oil is squeezed out of them. It is cold-pressed oil that should be used for medical purposes, as well as in cosmetics. There are also several methods of hot pressing. Basically, they are all similar in that the chopped nuts are heated and then pressed. In this case, the oil yield is greater, but its value decreases, since many substances are destroyed when heated. This oil is used in cooking. Finally, there is extraction. What is it? To extract the oil, a solvent is added to the seeds (for example, it can be gasoline), and then the oil and this same solvent are separated. I think there is no need to talk about the “health benefits” of the latest product. So it makes sense to buy cedar oil only from well-known sellers, asking for documents about where and how it was produced. Naturally, cold-pressed oil will also be the most expensive. The cake remaining after pressing the oil is used in cooking and in the confectionery industry.

Siberian cedar pine (Siberian cedar) grows naturally in Eastern and Western Siberia, in Altai, the Urals and the northeast of the Russian Plain. One might think that this tree was once distributed much further to the west, since there is a European pine, close relative Siberian, inhabitant of the Carpathians. Perhaps during the last glaciation, which occurred 25 - 12 thousand years ago, the area was dissected by a glacier. Subsequently, developing in isolation, these plants gradually diverged in a number of characteristics, and two separate species arose.

Siberian cedar has long been successfully grown by foresters in many places in Russia. Such groves of Siberian pine exist in the Arkhangelsk (near Koryazhma) and Vologda regions (near Veliky Ustyug, not far from Ustyuzhna). There are cedar plantations in both the central and northwestern regions of Russia. There are cedar nurseries where this tree is grown. And in the park of Illarion Ivanovich Dudorov in the north of the Vologda region they are also growing up cedar pines. I think there is great meaning maintain and disseminate this tradition. We can get (more precisely, of course, not us, not even our children, but our great-grandchildren!) the most valuable forest species.

How to distinguish a log house made of cedar from a log house made of pine?

Cedar, as a building material, has been known to mankind since ancient times. We can find references to this in the Bible. Today, this wood is used when building luxury cedar houses, bathhouses, country buildings, etc.

Benefits of cedar wood

Cedar compares favorably with all other types of wood, including conifers. Its obvious advantages include:

• Durability. Houses made of cedar last a surprisingly long time. They easily tolerate the scorching sun and bitter frosts. Resistant to sudden temperature changes and moisture.
• Aesthetic qualities. Cedar is an excellent building material created by nature itself. Its wood has a beautiful texture and rich color scheme, from light amber to dark chocolate color. A cedar log house is valued for its unusual, attractive appearance.
• Environmental friendliness. Cedar wood, being a wonderful natural antiseptic, has a beneficial effect on health. Phytoncides secreted by cedar destroy pathogenic microbes and improve the air quality in the room healing properties. The cedar aroma in the house lasts for many years.
• Air permeability and heat saving. The peculiarity of walls built from cedar is that they “breathe”. The air in such a room does not stagnate, and excess moisture is removed. I would also like to note that cedar has excellent thermal insulation properties. All this together creates a comfortable microclimate. It's nice to be in such a room.
• Practicality. Cedar is plastic, easy to process and at the same time has high strength. It is not subject to the decomposing effects of a humid atmosphere, and therefore is resistant to the formation of mold, rot and fungi. Bark beetles avoid it.

What is the difference between cedar and pine?

IN lately, thanks to the above properties, cedar houses are gaining more and more popularity. However, their cost can be 1.5 - 2 times higher than similar pine buildings. And logs made from these materials, at first glance, are very similar, which some unscrupulous suppliers take advantage of by passing off pine wood as cedar.

To determine what the log house is actually made of, you need to pay attention to the smell. Cedar has a pronounced, characteristic balsamic aroma, while pine has a weaker, unobtrusive pine spirit. As for the color, the yellowish tint of the wood in pine logs is more pronounced and it darkens more slowly in the open air. Cedar logs can be identified by their pink core, which pink color, not like pine.

Due to its excellent characteristics building materials Coniferous wood is actively used for the construction of houses, bathhouses, gazebos and other objects. They are also used for finishing premises, for example, in the form of lining. However coniferous trees are different, and now we will look at how to distinguish pine from cedar.

What's the difference?

To begin with, cedar materials are noticeably more expensive than pine analogues. And this gives some scope for fraud: under the guise of expensive cedar timber, they can sell you pine timber.

The differences between pine and cedar, which make the latter more expensive, are as follows:

• Less attractive appearance;
• High tendency to warping and shrinkage;
• Higher likelihood of cracks;
• Less durability;
• Different microclimate.

The last point should be given special attention, since it important factor that cedar is a “noble” wood. It contains a whole spectrum useful substances, which are gradually released into the surrounding space, having a positive effect on humans.

Use in construction and decoration

The structural properties of cedar and pine are largely similar, with the exception of the above-mentioned nuances. This is not surprising, because what we call “Siberian cedar” belongs to the genus of pines and is a cedar pine.

The use of cedar as a structural material (for the construction of load-bearing walls or a log house) is not widespread due to its high cost. However, as we have already noted, there are some advantages in building from cedar, plus the recently important factor of prestige.

But from the point of view of interior decoration, the positive properties of cedar become more obvious, mainly due to its ability to maintain its appearance for a long time and have a beneficial effect on health.

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Differences

The main difference between cedar and pine is their habitat. Pine grows almost everywhere, but cedar does not. Besides:

1. The average cedar is five meters taller than the same pine.
2. The lifespan of cedar is also longer.
3. Cedar blooms a little later than pine.
4. There are more deep grooves on the pine bark and they appear earlier.
5. But here’s how to distinguish cedar from pine by its needles: in the former they grow in bunches of five, while in pine they grow in pairs. Thus, the cedar looks more “fluffy”.
6. There are also differences in the shape of the cones. Plus, pine nuts can be eaten, but the same is not practiced with pine nuts.

What if there is already timber or clapboard in front of me?

The first option for distinguishing cedar from pine in a log house is color. Cedar has a pleasant pinkish tint that hardly fades over time. Pine is a little grayish and the color of its wood quickly fades. If we're talking about about logs, this will be especially noticeable at the ends.

The place where the knot was will be noticeably reddish on cedar material, but not on pine material.

Cedar wood has a different smell, which is due to differences in chemical composition resin Moreover, the smell of cedar lingers long time, even on processed material.

Cedar is also a little lighter than pine, and its wood has a more uniform and even structure.